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The Question

  1. 01The Question
  2. 02The machines arrive
  3. 03The uncomfortable question
  4. 04A peculiar habit of mind
  5. 05What Turing had already built
  6. 06Unsatisfied
  7. 07What does it mean to think?
  8. 08The definition problem
  9. 09The Imitation Game
  10. 10Why this sidesteps the problem
  11. 11Why this was radical
  12. 12Meet ELIZA
  13. 13What did you notice?
  14. 14The question is still open
  15. 15Reinforce your understanding
  16. 16Question: Turing's move
  17. 17Question: Behavior
  18. 18Question: Limits of the test
  19. 19Quiz: answer
  20. 20The question follows you
  21. 21Want to go deeper?
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What does it mean to think?

Before we get to Turing's answer, try the question yourself.

Right now, you're reading. Is that thinking? Almost certainly yes. Your brain is doing something: parsing words, building meaning, connecting ideas.

What about a calculator adding two numbers? It follows rules. It gets the right answer every time. Is that thinking?

Most people say no. But it's hard to say exactly why.

Citations(2)↓
  1. 1. academic.oup.com
  2. 2. plato.stanford.edu